


just keep breathin'

by smileformemylovely



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: ABO, Alpha Harry, Alpha Liam, Alpha Zayn, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Arranged Marriage, Depression, Library worker Louis, M/M, Omega Louis, Omega Niall, Threesome - M/M/M, Younger Louis, arranged mating, college students Liam and Niall, getting kicked out, pop stars! harry and zayn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-08-20 23:21:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16565048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smileformemylovely/pseuds/smileformemylovely
Summary: Louis dreaded his 21st birthday ever since he turned 15.He never wanted an alpha. How the hell did he end up with two?Could this get any worse?





	1. wish i’d never grown up

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This has been my baby for years. I'm so excited to finally upload it. Thank you so much for reading!

_ After the Second World War, western countries had a problem. Omegas has become too independent. They were mating older, having less babies, and, the most scandalous of it all, 20% of omegas were marrying betas, with another 3% dating omegas. These couplings did not produce alphas. The alphas back from war wanted to settle down with their omegas, not having them running around. The alpha population was dwindling, with the lives lost at war, paired with the fewer babies that were being born. A pact was made in the UN, and all countries in it introduced the most controversial rule the international community had seen: at the age of 21, all omegas would be tested and paired with an alpha who was a perfect genetic match. There were revolts and protests by most omegas, a lot of betas, and a handful of alphas. But, sadly, they failed. And now and then a few rise up and revolt but it never went anywhere. And so they went, each generation paired. _

 

Louis had been dreading December 1st, 2016 since the day he presented as an omega at the age of 15.The first day of the month he turned 21. He had hoped it would disappear off the calendar, that time would forget it and he could move on with his life in his two bedroom rowhouse. But when he woke up and checked his phone, there it was staring at him.  _ December 1st, 2017.  _ He briefly considered throwing the phone across the room, breaking it and running away, but he didn’t want to disturb Niall sleeping in the twin bed across the room or leave a mess that would fall to Liam to clean up. So he opted to pull the duvet over his head and pretend it was just another Friday. 

Niall crawled out of bed at nine am and poked his cold face next to Louis under the duvet. Louis closed his eyes and evened his breath until Niall kissed him on the cheek and walked downstairs, leaving Louis alone. 

Liam, his roommate and Niall’s alpha, came in at noon with a cup of tea and a packet of biscuits and pulled the duvet away from Louis. Louis buried his head in his pillow. “Fuck off, Liam, I’m sleeping.”

“Time to wake up, and eat something.” Liam opened the packet of biscuits and shoved one in Louis’ mouth. Louis choked it down and sat up, accepting the cup of tea. It was warm in his hands and tasted just right, slightly milky and bitter. 

“Don’t you have work?” Louis muttered. Liam pulled himself up into bed next to Louis and leaned against the headboard. 

“Took it off. Thought you could use the support.”

Louis took another biscuit and nibbled around the edge, too nauseous for anything more. “Thanks.”

Liam squeezed Louis’ arm and Louis leaned against him. “It’s gonna be okay, you know. Me and Niall, we’re gonna be here for you no matter what.” 

“It’s not,  Liam, he’s gonna be old and gross…” Louis felt his heart stop and his mug shake in his hands. Liam took the mug out of Louis’ hands and wrapped his arm around Louis’ shoulders, pulling him into the solid warmth of the chest. His other arm came up and rubbed Louis’ bicep. Louis buried his face in Liam’s shoulder and closed his eyes, breathing in the familiar smell of bonfire Liam gave off. “I’m fucking scared, Liam, okay, I hate this, I hate this system, I hate being an omega, and I hate feeling like this. It’s utterly terrifying putting my future life and mate in a system that doesn’t care about omegas.”

“I was scared, too, Louis. Not knowing when my letter would come, or who my mate would be, Niall was scared, we’re all scared…” 

“You don’t get it, Liam!” Louis pushed away and dug his nails into his palm. “You’re an alpha, you have the right to reject an omega for any reason, you can go through a dozen omegas and no one will look down on you. And you ended up with Niall, who’s been one of your best friend since you were 10, because you and him are the luckiest bastards on earth. I’m not lucky, fate hates me, I’m gonna end up with some old, gross, alpha who hits me and the dozen omegas he’s had before me, and in a year, he’s gonna reject me because I back talked or I gained 5 pounds or I burned his dinner. And then I’m go through four more until I get someone like Mark. And I’m gonna be looked at like they looked at Mum, and I… can’t go through with that.” And with that, Louis rolled over the side of the bed and tripped a little. Liam clamored out of bed after him and grabbed Louis’ arm.

“I’m sorry, Lou. I…” Liam pulled Louis into his arms, who was stiff and trembling. His hand rubbed at Louis’ shoulder. Louis fought  the urge to relax into his chest. “But it’s going to be okay. Me and Niall, we’re here for you, always.” 

_ But you’re not,  _ thought Louis. There would be mating and kids and jobs and Niall and Liam were going to be  _ so so happy _ and Louis was going to be kept locked up in a gross, little flat, with a gross little alpha. 

Louis wanted to vomit. 

Liam pulled him in closer, smelling of warmth and fire and wood. Louis allowed himself  _ 1, 2, 3 _ sniffs to calm down before pulling away. He wiped the tears away from his face with the edge of his sleeve and ran his fingers through his hair. 

“I’m okay,” Louis said quietly. “I’m going to shower.”

He turned and walked out the door, leaving Liam alone in his and Niall’s little room. He went to the shower and turned it on as hot as the tap will go, and stood under it and let tears run down his face until it was too cold to stand. He blew dry his hair, but left it down, his caramel fringe touching his long coal black eyelashes framing his deep blue eyes. The mirror was fogged but Louis avoided it anyway. Back in his room, Louis tugged on black joggers and a red sweater, before heading downstairs. 

Niall and Liam were at the rickety kitchen table. It’s pale wood matched the cabinets, which matched the wood floor, which matched the one windowsill in the kitchen. The kitchen was small. Everything was small. The trio basically lived on top of each other. But the house was lived in. Pictures of the three, with various other friends, Niall and Liam’s parents, and on their own, were scattered around the place, resting on side tables and hung up in white wood frames on soft ochre walls. Liam and Niall’s schoolwork was scattered with Louis’ reading. An old record player stood by the front window on a cheap table covered in an ugly black lace. Music would always fill their house, the three of them singing along as it played. The biggest piece of furniture was their large dark purple couch, covered with lots of blankets and pillows, big enough for six Liam’s. They measured. The trio would often curl up here for movie nights. Louis would read here, too, the nights he couldn’t sleep. Or sleep here, the days he slept too much. 

This was their home, and Louis’ heart ached at the very thought of leaving it. 

Louis went to the kitchen first. The kettle stood on the counter, puffing away. Liam and Niall’s quiet conversation faded while they watched him. 

Louis distinctly remembered the day Niall’s letter came, the first Saturday of September, warmer than September had any right to be. His mum and dad were here in the morning, bringing great cheer. There was a feeling of slight anticipation in the morning, excitedly nervous energy pulsing through the five of them. 

That warm September Saturday, they all spoke quietly, waiting for the clatter of mail slot. Conversations were started and abandoned, Niall’s legs bounced and he paced the first floor. He hadn’t slept the night before, laying in Louis’ bed, whispering a mile a minute. Louis had cuddled the blond omega, stroking his hair as he listened to Niall chatter quietly, aimlessly. In the morning, Louis made tea for the five of them, and a breakfast he had to force down Niall’s throat. At noon, they heard the swish and thud of the mail slot and Niall froze. Louis had been the one to collect the mail, where two light brown envelopes had lay. They were both marked urgent on them, and one had Niall’s name, the other, Liam’s. 

All the air had gone from the room. Louis handed them over dutifully. Liam and Niall couldn’t look at each other, both sets of hands shaking in anticipation. Niall’s mother stood, aiming a camera at the both of them, grinning. Louis leaned against the door and wished for a cigarette. Quickly, Liam and Niall both ripped open the envelope and pulled out the letter. 

_ Dear Mr. Niall Horan, _

_ We are pleased to inform you that your requested Alpha, Liam James Payne… _

 

_ Dear Mr. Liam Payne, _

_ Congratulations, you have been assigned to an omega. We are pleased to inform you that one of your requested omegas, Niall James Horan… _

Both of the newly assigned pair neglected reading the rest of the letter out loud, dropping them both on the ground and turning to each other. They grinned and Liam scooped Niall in his arms and spun him around. Niall laughed and his mother cried and Louis plastered a fake smile on and waited until he could slip away. Liam and Niall Skyped the Paynes' and there were more tears and laughs and cheers. The Horan’s popped open a bottle of champagne and Niall never left Liam’s side. The Paynes' has left Doncaster right away and turned up at the rowhouse, carrying flowers and dispensing smiles and hugs to everyone. They insisted on taking the couple to dinner, and they wouldn’t let Louis refuse either. Niall wouldn’t stop grinning. 

The letters still hung on the fridge, held by oversize smiley magnets, staring at Louis whenever he needed milk. 

Three months later, their house was empty of parents. There was no nervous, anxious energy. It was silent and tense. As Louis took a seat, Niall smiled at him. 

“How are you, Lou?” 

Louis ran a finger around the rim of his mug and shrugged. “Ready for this to be over.” 

Niall reached over and gripped his hand. “It’ll be…” 

“Niall, I love you, but please don’t say it’ll be okay.” 

Niall gripped his hand harder. Liam’s nostrils flared out, the only way he showed his annoyance in Louis’ tone. It was raining, the sky dark even in the afternoon. Louis suddenly felt cooped out. He wanted to go for a walk, a long one, to Wales or Scotland or straight to France, and then all over the continent.

Louis drank his tea instead. It was too quiet and he could hear his heartbeat in his ears. 

The sound of the mail slot, the swish, the softened thud, made Louis jump. It made his throat tighten in anxiety. It made the heartbeat in his ears grow louder. He was uncomfortably aware of Niall and Liam’s eyes that were on him. 

“Let’s get this over with,” Louis said, tensely, before abandoning his tea and moving to the front door. Niall and Liam followed his soundlessly. 

There was a bill, some junkmail, and a catalogue in front of the door, the unassuming brown envelope on top, addressed to a Mr. Louis Tomlinson. Louis ignored the other mail, picking up only the envelope with slightly shaky hands. 

He felt a hand on his back. Looking back, Liam looked at him, solemnly. Niall stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Louis’ waist. Louis swallowed.

“You don’t have to open it now, Louis,” Liam said quietly. “We can wait if you want. Go to the pub or something, you can calm down. I can hear your heart, and...you smell anxious.” Liam’s hand trailed up and brushed against the back of Louis’ neck.

Louis shook his head, only in part to get Liam’s hand away from his neck. “If I don’t open it now, I’ll never open it.” 

Niall’s chin dropped to Louis’ shoulder as the caramel haired omega flipped the envelope in his hand and ripped it open. He tugged the sheaf of paper out and flipped them open. 

_ Dear Mr. Louis Tomlinson, _

_ As you might have heard, there has been a increase in the Alpha population in Great Britain. As such, we started a program where two Alphas are paired with one omega, in hopes that this will offset the amount of unmated Alphas. We are pleased to let you know that, after reviewing your genetic and personal tests, that you have been selected for the program. Your two assigned Alphas that have requested to be assigned together are Harry Edward Styles and Zayn Javadd Malik. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact the program’s case manager, Janet Robinson at  _ [ _ jrobinson@aor.gov _ ](mailto:jrobinson@aor.gov) _.uk. Please mark your email as Case Number 101295O. You’ll find basic information about your Alphas on the following two pages. We encourage mates to meet as soon as possible.  _

_ Have a great day!  _

_ Martha Smith  _

_ Director of Alpha and Omega Affairs  _

Louis felt faint. “Two, I have...two,” Louis stammered out. Two alphas. This, literally, couldn’t get any worse. 

Liam’s hand tightened on his shoulder. “Jesus,” he hissed out. “Can they even do that?” 

“I’m an omega, they’re the government, they can do anything they want.” Louis gritted his teeth. 

Niall scanned the letter while Louis ran his hand through his hair, silently freaking out. “Harry Styles and Zayn Malik? Aren’t they those pop star alphas?” 

Louis hadn’t even read the names properly, too upset to take anything in other than  _ two alphas, two alphas.  _ He stared at the names, printed on the hellish paper. He recognised the names immediately. It would be hard not to, considering they were probably the biggest household names in music right now. Harry Styles and Zayn Malik, the two alphas everyone wanted and wanted to be, and no one could have. Top of every list, every chart, songs played on every radio station. 

Louis Tomlinson has two mates, and they were the biggest pop stars in the world. 

He had been wrong. It could get worse.


	2. don’t wanna lose    control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fucking Yikes.

Louis could feel his heartbeat in his ears. The papers were still damp and crumpled around the edges where he held them tightly in his hands. He stared at the names, _Harry Edward Styles and Zayn Javadd Malik._ He hadn’t even flipped to the next pages, where he knows he’ll see their pictures and how to contact them. But Louis doesn’t want to, because that makes this so much more real.

Louis had prepared himself for an alpha, hell, he had even prepared himself for an old alpha, an ugly alpha, one who lived far away in the middle of nowhere. But he never even fathomed the idea he would be assigned two mates, especially not two mates who were famous pop stars.

_Harry Edward Styles and Zayn Javadd Malik._

“Louis?” Niall’s voice managed to to tear Louis away from his thoughts. He turned his head to meet Niall’s eyes. They were still in the foyer, Liam’s and Niall’s arms still around Louis. “You alright?”

“Dunno,” Louis said truthfully. He didn’t feel like he could move.

“I’ll make tea,” Liam said, hurrying away. Niall led Louis to the couch. Louis sat down and crossed his legs. His hands had gone cold. Niall pulled the papers from Louis’ hands and rubbed at his shoulder. A few minutes later, Liam came back and pushed a mug into Louis’ hands. Louis sipped at it without tasting. He kept staring at the papers.

“Should I call them?” Louis asked, nodding towards the papers.

“Probably,” Liam said quietly.

Louis bit his lip and reached for the papers. He flipped the first page, and Harry Styles was there, candidly looking over his shoulder, curls falling down his shoulder, a pair of glasses perched on his head. His name, birthday, address, and a handful of phone numbers were printed below him. Louis turned over that page and there was Zayn. He was staring into the camera, a tattooed hand resting on his chin, wearing a leather jacket. His address and at least one phone number matched the ones from Harry’s page.

Louis took a long drink of tea and swallowed it around the lump in his throat. He pulled his phone out of his hoodie pocket, and carefully dialed the home number listed on Zayn’s paper.

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ring._

_“Malik-Styles’ residence, Muira speaking,”_ came the heavy Scottish accent over the phone.

“H-hi,” Louis stammered. He took a deep breath. “My name is Louis Tomlinson, I’m, uh. I’m Zayn and Harry’s...I got a let...can I speak to Zayn and Harry, or either Zayn or Harry. Whoever’s available.”

Louis tapped his toes.

“ _Sorry, how did you get this number?”_

“I’m, I got a letter. From the government. I’m...I’m Zayn and Harry’s omega. I guess.”

 _“One second, love,”_ Muirasaid, and for a brief second Louis thought she would hang up on him, but the phone beeped instead and Louis was put on hold.

 _“Hello?”_ a deep voice said. Louis could detect a hint of anticipation. _“Louis?”_

Louis’ heart leapt at the sound of his name. “Hi, yeah. This is...this is Louis.”

 _“Hi, Louis, it’s Harry,”_ said the deep voice. He pronounced it with a long drawn out _s. Lew-issss._

Another voice came over the line. _“This is Zayn.”_

“Hi,” Louis said quietly.

 _“How are you?”_ Zayn asked.

“Fine.” Louis bit his lip. “How are you?”

Liam and Niall were looking at him questioningly. Louis shrugged, and pointed to the phone. _Zayn,_ he mouthed.

 _“We’re good,”_ Harry said. _“Glad you called.”_

“Oh,” Louis said. “So you already…”

 _“Yeah,”_ Zayn chuckled. _“We were, quite literally, about to call you.”_

“Oh, yeah. Cool. Cool.”

 _“Yeah,”_ Harry drawled.

 _“Cool,”_ Zayn said.

Louis giggled nervously. “So…uh, do, do you wanna meet up? Are you free?”

 _“Yes!”_ Harry cleared his throat. _“Yes, we’re free. We’d love to meet up. Yes, definitely.”_

 _“Definitely.”_ Zayn echoed. _“Do you want to come over here? Or we can come visit you? Or we can meet up at a coffee shop? Either way.”_

There was some mumbling on the phone while Louis took the phone and covered it with his hand. “Should I invite them over?” Louis whispered to Liam.

“Do you want to?”

“...I think so?” Louis was so nervous. He was so ready to meet these alphas so they could laugh and reject him, and the three of them could move on in their lives. Later, Louis could tell his kids how he had been assigned two pop star alphas, and even got to pretend he could be their omega for a day. Hell, he could probably sell the story to a gossip rag and make some booze money for it.

“So ask them over.” Niall motioned to the phone.

Louis raised it to his ear. On the other side, two voices murmured. “Hello?”

 _“Hi, Louis.”_ Lew-isssss.

“Hi, yeah, you...the both of you should come over. If you want.”

 _“Yes, yes, we...we would love too,”_ Zayn said.

_“Today? Like, now? We can be there in like, an hour and a half? Two hours?”_

“Two hours? That’s...yeah, that’s fine. Do you need my address?”

 _“This place on Angel Lane?”_ Zayn asked.

“Oh,” Louis chuckled nervously. “I forgot you had it.”

 _“It’s okay,”_ Harry assured. _“So we’ll see you in two hours?”_

“Sure. See you then.”

_“Bye, Louis.”_

_“See you soon.”_

For a moment, none of them hung up. One breath, than two. Then Louis pulled the phone away and pressed the red button with shaking fingers.

“ _Fuck._ ” Louis dropped his phone on the coffee table, picked up the now lukewarm tea and took a long drink. He wished it was alcohol.

“You alright, Lou?” Liam asked.

“Yeah,” he replied. “I’m gonna...I’m gonna go outside for a second.” So Louis stood up with his tea and walked out into their tiny garden area. The triad couldn’t grow anything to save their lives by they wedged a little grill covered by a tarp and a bench. Louis went to the grill and produced a cheap lighter and pack of cigarettes he had placed under the lid. He sat on the bench and tucked his knees his chest before lighting a cigarette and taking a deep drag.

Louis hadn’t smoked since the first day of September.

Louis took another drag and blew out the smoke, then buried his head in his knees. He tried to even out his breathing. _11 in… 1234567891011… 7 out… 1234567… 11 in…_

Louis felt the end of the cigarette burn and disintegrate in his finger tips. He lost five minutes just trying to breathe, and calm the storm in his chest. He carelessly tossed the butt, the pack, and the lighter back into the grill and shut it before heading back inside.

Liam and Niall were in the kitchen, one of Liam’s arms around Niall’s waist, cradling the omega. The other was stroking through Niall’s blond hair. Niall was peeking up at Liam, his hands gripping the alphas shirt. They were talking with urgent, low voices.

Louis closed the door quietly. He felt like an invader, like he didn’t belong. Like he was seeing something he didn’t deserve to see. Louis tried to sneak but his phone buzzed twice with a text notification and Louis ended tumbling over the couch trying to reach it.

Liam and Niall were pulled out of their moment and both heads snapped to where Louis laid sprawled on the couch. “You alright?” Liam asked, concerned.

Louis felt his cheeks heat up. “Fine, just, getting my phone. Sorry to disturb you.”

“No, no, no,” Liam gave Niall a peck to the temple before pulling away. “I was just about to make lunch.”

Liam began puttering around the kitchen, pulling things out of the fridge and heating up the stove. Niall joined Louis on the couch, helping the younger omega from the awkward position he had landed in. Niall turned on the tv and settled on an old replay of The Great British Bake Off.

To: _Louis_ From: _Private_

_Hiiiii ya, Louis, this is Harry xx_

_Looking forward to meeting you xx_

To: _Louis_ From: _Private_

_hi this is zayn :)_

To: _New Groupchat_ From: _Private_

_Hiiii it’s Harry again just in a groupchat xxxx_

Louis saved the numbers in his phone with a simple _h_ and _z_.

To: _New Groupchat_ From: _Louis_

_Hi, this is Louis ._

Louis received back emojis in the form of a waving hand and a grinning face from Harry and a simply smiley from Zayn.

He flips the phone on to the couch and half collapsed onto Niall’s shoulder. Niall wrapped an arm around Louis’ shoulder and Louis wound up snuggling into his shoulder, breathing in the sweet scent of lavender.

“You okay?” Niall asked softly.

Niall and Louis have been friends since they were ten. When they presented, they had grown so much closer. Louis might count Liam has his best friend, but Niall was the one who understood the most.

“I wish my mum were here,” Louis whispered.

He had thought about calling her. She would answer, too, would probably have tried to slip away from Mark and come down. _It’s December 1st, will you come hold my hand while I open my letter? Meet the alpha who will be my mate? Tell me it’s going to be okay? That I won’t get a Will, or Rob, or a Kevin?_

But if Mark has found out, he would’ve yelled at her, and stormed off, the way he did when he found she had visited him before, when she let him in to see the kids, when Louis turned fifteen and ruined everything. And that would have hurt his mum, and he was so, so tired of hurting her.

Karen Payne and Maura Horan offered to come out. They would have made breakfast and celebrated after. Just like they did for Niall. Just the way it was supposed to be.

But it wouldn’t have been the same as his mum.

Niall stroked at Louis’ hair and Louis snuggled closer into the blond. “I know,” Niall whispered. “I’m sorry.”

Louis swallowed around the knot in his throat.

Liam came in with a tray full of sandwiches and crisps. He set the tray on the coffee table and sat next to Niall. “Everything okay?”

Louis sat up and reached for a bottle of water on the tray. “Peachy.”

Liam glanced at Louis. “Do you need…”

Louis shook his head and grabbed a sandwich.

The triad ate silently, watching the show play out in front of them. Louis’ phone buzzed a few times, causing Louis to pause while his heart leapt. When they were done, Louis took the opportunity to escape from his phone and his friend’s worried looks and took the tray to the kitchen. He carefully washed each plate by hand, and dried them when they were done.

Then there was an hour left on the clock, one hour until Harry and Zayn would be in his home.

Louis ran his hands through his hair and banged his head onto a cabinet. Maybe he’d give himself amnesia.

“Louis?” Came Niall’s careful voice from behind him. Louis ignored him in favor of banging his head on the cabinet again. “Aren’t you going to get ready?”

“What’s the point?” Louis muttered. He turned around and leant against the counter, crossing his arms in front of him. He glowered at the floor.

“Don’t you want to look nice for your...for Harry and Zayn?”

Louis flicked his eyes upwards, into Niall’s dark blue ones. “Why does it matter? They’re just gonna reject me. They must be too polite to do it over the phone.”

Niall tilted his head. “You don’t know that, Louis.”

“They’re celebrities! They’re supposed to be with...celebrity omegas! Or maybe they don’t right away, but they will after they figure how...how fucked up I am!”

“And if they don’t?”

“Then I have two fucking alphas who will be telling me what to do and who I can talk to and controlling my life!”

And then Louis stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Niall alone. He was headed towards the back door when Liam grabbed him by the shoulder a little too tightly.

“Get off of me, Liam.” Louis attempted to shrug Liam’s grasp.

“Where are you going?”

“Outside, fuck!” Louis yelped when Liam’s grip tightened.

“You’re not fucking smoking again, Louis, I can still smell the last one on you. Go get dressed and wear something nice for fuck sakes.” Louis scowled at Liam. “Get that look off your face.” Then Liam leaned in close and dropped his tone of voice. “I know you’re upset and I know it’s a rough day, so I didn’t say anything earlier, but don’t ever talk to my ome-Niall like that again. He didn’t do anything to you, he’s trying to help. Now go get dressed.” Liam pressed Louis’ phone into the omega’s hands. “And answer your fucking phone.”

Louis spent the entire last part of Liam’s talking-to fight the instinct to drop his head, bare his neck, and whine. He set his jaw and glared at Liam. At the end, he took his phone and knocked Liam’s hand off his shoulder, before heading upstairs and slamming the door.

His and Niall’s closet was wide open. Louis had actually spent an hour last night trying to decide what to wear, before saying screw it and going to bed. Now he went back into it and began flipping through them. _This makes my arse look too big, this is ugly why do I still have this, too small, why the fuck do I own so many graphic T-shirt’s, that’s Liam’s, that’s Niall’s, that’s...Lottie’s?_

Eventually, he settled on a dark chambray button up and dark purple jeans. He brushed out his hair, and took one long last look in the mirror before sitting on his bed and looking at his phone.

There were a couple of notifications from twitter, a message from Lottie, and three messages from _New Groupchat._

To: _New Groupchat_ From: _h_

_Hiiii were leaving now be there in half an hour xx_

_Unless traffic is bad. Or we can’t start a car. Or we get lost. But we won’t. Hopefully. xxx_

To: _New Groupchat_ From: _z_

_hi Louis is there parking near you?_

Both of these were from about fifteen minutes ago. Which meant there were another fifteen minutes to go. Louis swallowed.

To: _New Groupchat_ From: _Louis_

_Hi yes there is you can park in the street in front of the house :) see you soon_

After Louis pressed the send button, he checked twitter. It was pretty uneventful, but on impulse, Louis checked Harry’s twitter. He stared to scroll through but the first tweet caught his eye.

_Exciting things are happening. H._

It had been tweeted five minutes after they had texted the first time. Louis clicked over to Zayn’s twitter and his first tweet was also around the same time.

_Exciting day! :)_

Louis took a deep breath and hit follow in both accounts. Then he opened up Lottie’s message.  


To: _Louis_ From: _Lots_

_Hope today goes well x call me later x love you xxx_

To: _Lots_ From: _Louis_

_thnx love call you later :)_

Louis tapped the phone against his lips. With one last check in the mirror, Louis went down stairs. Liam and Niall were on the couch. Liam had his arm around Niall’s back and Niall was resting his head on Liam’s shoulder. They made a pretty couple, so cozy, curled up on a couch. They looked up when Louis came down, in unison.

“Hey.” Louis started fiddling with his cuffs.

Niall, slowly, and Liam patted the couch next to him. “You look nice,” remarked Liam.

“Thanks,” Louis said, sitting next to him. He checked his phone. No messages. He tried to watch the show playing on the tv, but kept getting distracted glancing towards the door or his phone. His stomach was twisting in knots and his mouth was dry. He couldn’t wait anymore.

His phone buzzed.

To: _New Groupchat_ From: _h_

_We’re parking be there soon xxxx_

Louis’ heart leapt.

“They’re here,” Louis whispered. Liam grabbed at his hand.

“You’ll be okay,” Niall said. “It’ll be fine.”

Louis nodded and squeezed Liam’s hand once before standing up, tugging at his shirt, and fixing his fringe. “Do I look okay?”

“You look great,” Liam assured Louis.

Then, there was a knock on the front door. Three of them, sharply.

Louis took a deep breath and went over to it. He bit his lip and opened the door.

And in front of him stood a tall man, grinning, bright white teeth flashing, his long, dark, hair loose around his shoulder. His dark green coat hung open, showing off his matching shirt, black jeans and boots. A slightly shorter man waited next to him, black hair in a soft quiff, wearing a black coat over a white button down and dark blue jeans. There was a bouquet of light pink, lavender, and, blue roses clutched in his hands.

They were gorgeous.

“Hi,” Louis said.

“Hi,” said the tall man in green. “I’m Harry.”

The man next to him smiled softly. “And I’m Zayn.”

“I’m, uh,” Louis swallowed around the lump in his throat. “I’m Louis. Come on in.”

Louis stepped aside and let Harry and Zayn into his house. When they were inside, Zayn held out the bouquet. “These are for you.”

Louis took them and smiled shyly. “They’re beautiful.” The two alphas grinned back at him. Louis offered to take their coats and then placed them in the closet.

“We can go to the living room, it’s this way.” Louis led them to room. Liam and Niall were in there, seated on the couch, and they stood up when the three entered.

“These are my roommates and best friends, Liam and Niall.”  

They exchanged polite nods. Niall noticed the flowers in Louis’ hands. “Oh, those are gorgeous, Louis.”

“Yeah,” Louis said. He could feel Zayn and Harry’s eyes on his back. He motioned to the couch. “You guys can sit, I’m going I put these in a vase. Can I get you a drink? Coffee? Tea? Water?”

“Water, that’d be great, yeah,” Harry replied before sitting down carefully on the big, purple sofa. Zayn nodded in agreement as he sat next to Harry.

Louis nervously nodded and slipped towards the kitchen, where he placed the flowers in their only vase and pulled out their nicest glasses. He also made a cup of tea for himself, and arranged some biscuits Liam had made on a plate. All of these he put on a tray, which he began taking to the living room.

Liam stops him on the way. “We’re gonna go.”

“We? Go?” Louis furrowed his brow. “Where are you going?”

“Me and Niall, we’re gonna go get a cup of coffee. We’ll be back in an hour or two.”

Louis felt his hands begin to shake, rattling the tray a little. “You’re just going to leave me alone with them? You can’t leave, Li.”

Liam put his hands on Louis’ shaky ones. “You’ll be fine, okay, we’re just going down the street, just for an hour or two. You can text me 999 if you need me. This’ll be good for you, Lou.” Liam took the tray from Louis, because the alpha thought Louis might drop it. Louis bit the inside of his cheek and nodded.

“An hour?”

Liam nodded back and the two went into the living room. Liam placed the tray on the coffee table. Louis felt Harry and Zayn looking at him intensely. He placed the water and plate in front of them, wrapping his own hands around the mug and holding it to his chest. Everyone was silent. Louis could hear Niall come downstairs quietly. When he arrived, he hugged Louis good bye. Liam gripped his shoulder, but unlike earlier, it wasn’t in warning or meanness, but comforting. Louis sat on the opposite side of the couch, the side that smelled like lavender, and folded one leg over the opposite knee. He kept staring at his mug, feeling Zayn and Harry’s eyes on him, listening as Niall and Liam tugged on coats and boots, before the door open and closed.

Louis was alone with Harry and Zayn.

Fucking yikes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I don’t when the next chapter will post, so subscribe to stay updated. Leave comments and kudos if you want! 
> 
> Follow me at twinkskeletonzouis.tumblr.com


	3. careful creature made friends with time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam had known Louis since they had been tiny infants, and Liam had never seen Louis as openly nervous and anxious as he had when he told Louis they were leaving. Don’t get Liam wrong, he knew Louis got anxious, but never as openly as today. He usually hid it from everyone, pressed deeped inside of him, years of Mark in his ears.
> 
> But now there was nowhere to run.

Niall and Liam stepped out in the cold December sun, closing the door behind them. “He’s gonna be okay, right?” Niall asked softly. Liam looked down and pulled Niall into his arms. He kissed the side of the omega’s blond head, before nuzzling him, breathing in the floral smell of lavender. 

“He’ll be okay,” Liam said. “We’ll be right down the street, and you know, Harry and Zayn...don’t seem awful.”

Liam felt Niall sigh in his arms. “Liam, that’s not what I meant.” 

Liam pulled back, took Niall’s cheek in his hand and tilted his head back so the omega would look into his eyes. “He’s going to be okay, love,” Liam assured Niall. He leaned forward to press his lips to Niall’s brows.

-

Inside the house, Louis was seated on one side of the large L-shaped couch. He wanted to tuck his legs into his chest, but he refrained, instead crossing his ankles and sitting up straight, the way he was taught in omega studies. His tea cup was clutched in his hands, and Louis was staring at it, feeling the intense scrutinizing gazes of the alphas on the other side of the couch. They would glance at him, then at each other, before their gaze would return to him. Louis, on the other hand, was looking everywhere but the alphas. His toes clenched in his socks. He opened his mouth but lost his nerve and instead bit down on his bottom lip.

They had been sitting in that awful, awkward silence for what felt like five hours, but was most likely five minutes, before one of them reached for a biscuit and bit down on it.

“These are good. Did you make these?”

The words pulled Louis out of his head and, finally, made him look at the alphas. His blue eyes met a pair of intense brown eyes.

Louis briefly entertained the thought of lying to them, making him seem like a better omega than he actually was. Instead he took a deep breath and said:

“No, I, uhm. I can’t bake. Or cook.” Louis swallowed. “In fact, one time in omega studies, I made biscuits. They were burnt and they tasted like bananas.” 

“Oh well,” Harry glanced at Zayn. “That’s not bad, bananas are pretty good.”

“There were no bananas in the recipe,” Louis said, deadpanned.

Harry and Zayn blinked at him before they cracked up. 

“How did you do that?” Zayn asked between chuckles. 

“I still have no idea. Mr. Bailey still has no idea how that happened.” 

“So, Niall made these?” Harry asked, taking one and examining it. 

Louis snorted. “Niall is even worse than me. He’s banned from the kitchen, he has set an empty pot on fire. Liam made those.” 

Harry bit down on one. “It’s okay that you don’t bake. I can bake. I used to be a baker.” 

Zayn slapped Harry’s shoulder lightly. “You worked the counter and stuffed your face with muffins. Don’t lie.” 

Harry shrugged. Louis felt his lips twitch. 

“So, are you in school?” Zayn asked Louis. 

Louis sipped at his cooling tea. “I, uhm,” he took a deep breath. “I am not. I dropped out after my first year. I was an...an English major though. Writing, poetry, that sorta thing. But no, not now, I...had to leave.” 

“What do you do then” Harry crossed his ankle over his knee and draped his arm behind Zayn. They were two beautiful specimens, tall and pretty looking at Louis so intensely. 

“I work in the library. Not the one down the street, but on Smith St? In the children’s section, I’m...I'm in charge of the children’s section. Arranging events, and...that sort of thing.” 

Harry and Zayn nodded in creepy unison. “Do you like it?” Zayn asked.

They bounced between each other when asking questions. It was like a tennis match, where the questions bounced back and forth between each other. Their eyes never left Louis.  It made Louis shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, I do. I like working with children, and it’s a good job.” 

Zayn and Harry nodded again, in that creepy unison. 

Louis cleared his throat. “So I obviously… I know… do you want me to pretend I don’t know what you do?”

“What do you mean?” Harry‘s lip twitched up into a smirk. “I make pots. I’m a potter.” His smirk widened. “I’m Harry Freakin’ Potter.” 

“I’m also a potter, only mine is more,” Zayn winked at Louis. “Green.” 

For the first time in a week, Louis grinned. A big grin that turned into a laugh. Louis laughed, hiding his mouth behind his wrist. His eyes crinkled, the noises that came from his mouth pealed around the room and his shoulders shook in mirth. 

“That’s beautiful.” Harry grinned at Louis. 

Louis furrowed his brow at the tall alpha, his lips still quirked into a smile. 

“Your laugh,” Harry replied to Louis’ unasked question. 

“And your smile.” Zayn chimed in. 

“Like music.” 

“And sunshine.” 

Louis ducked his head, his cheeks red. He took one last sip of his tea before placing the empty mug on the coffee table. He ran a nervous hand through his hair and uncrossed and recrossed his ankles. 

And then they were back to the silence. It sat between them, like a heavy, silent, unwelcome guest. 

Louis tapped his fingers on his thigh. “So, do you,” he looked up at them, into Harry’s bright green eyes, all smiley around the corners. “Do you like what you do?” 

“What?” Harry’s grin deepened. “Making pots?” 

Louis quirked the edges of his lips and rolled his eyes. Harry’s smirk deepened. 

“We like it, yeah,” Zayn chimed in. Louis broke away from Harry’s gaze, and met Zayn’s intense eyes. “We travel a lot, which is nice. We have a house here, in London, a flat in Manhattan, and a place over in LA. We loved music growing up, and now we get to do that.” 

Harry’s gaze had broken away from Louis’ face and he was looking at Zayn now, with soft eyes, and a soft smile. “We wouldn’t want to do anything else. We have...we have everything we could ever want or need.” Both sets of eyes had slid over to Louis now. “Except an omega.” 

_ We. We, us, we, us. We, we, we.  _ All of that made Louis’ stomach twist weird and the last part, those last three words, made his heart ache, in a way he couldn’t understand. 

Louis began absentmindedly playing with his cuffs. “Good, good. That’s...that’s important.” 

Zayn and Harry nodded.  “Tell us about your family,” Zayn said, softly. “Are you close?”

Louis bit at his bottom lip. This is exactly what he had been hoping to avoid. “I, uh, I have six siblings.”

“Six!” Harry exclaimed. He leaned forward. “That’s a big family.” 

“Yeah,” Louis smiled softly at the thought of them. “There’s Lottie, Charlotte, but she hates, being called that. She’s...wait, I have pictures.” Louis reached for his phone on the coffee table, before scooting to the very end of the couch. He quickly realized that he wouldn’t be able to show them both from where he was, and it seemed the two alphas did too, as they scooted apart. 

Zayn patted the space between them. “Here, you can sit between us.” 

Louis took a shallow breath and hesitated before moving over, stepping over Harry’s long legs, before settling in between the two. Both their thighs touched his and Harry’s arm brushed against his back.  Their smell mingled around Louis, something dark and woodsy from Harry, a cleaner scent from Zayn. It was refreshing, calming. 

Harry sniffed and then bent his head closer to Louis, breathing deeper. Louis stiffened a little. He was always worried he smelled, no matter how much deodorant he applied or showers he took.  _ ‘God, you stink. Go upstairs, you’re giving me a headache,’  _ still rattled in his head. 

“God,” Harry said. “You smell amazing.” Louis turned his head and blinked up at him, waiting for a laugh or a mean comment. But Harry only met his eyes, blinking his long lashes at Louis, a small smile on his full lips. 

Louis got distracted by the feeling of Zayn leaning in and taking a deep inhale. “Yeah,” the dark eyed alpha agreed. “Like a warm cinnamon roll.” 

Louis turned his head again, this time noticing how close Zayn was to his neck. He blushed and swallowed.  “Thank you,” Louis murmured softly. The two were closer than any alpha, other than Liam, had ever been to him, but instead of being weirded out by it, it felt oddly comforting. “You guys smell nice, too.” 

Harry preened at that, arched his neck back and flicked his hair with a long fingered hand. His scent filled the living room. Louis looked up at him through his lashes and Harry smiled down him. The green eyed alpha dropped his arm down on the couch, and it brushed Louis’ back. Zayn adjusted himself and his knee ended up touching Louis’ thigh. 

Louis felt his cheeks heat up as the two alpha’s scent overtook him. He focused on his phone, pulling up a picture of his family from last year.

“This is Lottie, well, her full name is Charlotte, but she hates that,” he said, pointing to the girl with pink hair.. “She’s sixteen, and she’s like, the most fashionable person I know. She just presented as an alpha. And she’s standing next to my mum.” 

“You all look alike,” Zayn commented.

“Your mum is so young, I thought that was another sister.” Harry leaned forward. His arm was officially on Louis’ back.

“Yeah,” Louis said softly. He moved his finger over, brushing past himself and his mum, until he landed on his second oldest sister. “That’s Felicite, but everyone calls her Fizzie, and she turns fifteen next year. She is, like, always top of her class and always reading, she’s so smart. And then you have Daisy and Phoebe. They’re twins, they’re ten years old, and they just so sweet. And my mum, she’s pregnant with another set of twins. Due in February.”

“Amazing."

“Yeah,” Louis said softly. “She really is.” He looked at the picture for a moment more before looking at Harry. “Tell me about your family.” 

Harry perked up and started to tell Louis about his family. Louis tried to pay attention to Harry talking, especially when Harry pulled out his phone to show his omega sister, her tall alpha, and their tiny two year old daughter, Kayla. But he couldn’t, not with Harry’s arm resting against his back, and Zayn’s thigh pressing his own. They sat closer now, and Louis could smell them more clearly now. Harry smelled of a forest, the one near Louis’ house as a kid, the that he would run around in with his friends. Zayn smelled of the ocean, salty and warm, like the seaside his mum and dad… his mum and Mark had taken him to when Jay was pregnant with Lottie.

Louis started playing with his cuffs again when Zayn started talking. He fiddled with the button on his shirt sleeve, He had been listening to Zayn so intently, stories about his little sisters, who Louis could imagine getting along so well with his, he didn’t realise he had undid his button. Louis had pushed his sleeve, revealing an inked rope wrapped around his wrist. He traced it absently minded with his finger, which caught Harry’s attention. Zayn was telling Louis about his sister’s lacrosse game when the other alpha lightly touched Louis’ wrist, startling the omega. He looked down and stiffened a little at the sight. 

“What’s this?” Harry asked. He pushed Louis’ sleeve up more to reveal the omega’s entire inked wrist. “A tattoo?”

Zayn reached over and ran a finger over the rope. It felt warm under his touch. “Is it real?”

Louis nodded, and pulled his hand away from Harry’s light grasp to roll up his other sleeve. “I have a few more.” 

His rope wrapped around his wrist. Four delicate birds on his wrists.  _ Far Away _ on his bicep. A spiderweb on his ankle. A tiny triangle below his ankle bone. And then a handful of flash tattoos on his inner arm. Louis rolled up his sleeve to show them off: a tiny lit match next to a bomb, a small paper airplane, a cup of tea the size of a pound coin, a miniature horseshoe, and a shrunken down globe. 

Harry and Zayn were silent as they took in Louis’ tattoos. “How did you get these?” Harry asked, his long fingers having found the smiley face with X’s for eyes. 

“Uhm,” Louis bit his lip. “I had a...friend when I was in uni who was a tattoo artist. He took a fake id and forged note from my “alpha” Alex Tomlinson, and uh… gave me these. His dad owned the tattoo shop so he…looked the other way.”

“That is...highly illegal,” Zayn said. “Giving an underage, unmated omega tattoos with no permission from their alpha? That’s…”

“ _ Hot.”  _ Harry said. Louis looked at him with a slightly open mouth. 

“What were you going to do if your alpha didn’t approve?”

Louis shrugged. “If they were going to reject me because of my tattoos, they were probably going to reject me for something else.”

Zayn and Harry glanced at each other and then back at Louis. “Do you want to see ours?” Zayn asked. 

Louis nodded in surprise. Zayn and Harry immediately rolled up their sleeves  and showed Louis all of their tattoos on their arms. Harry even unbuttoned his shirt a little bit, after a bit of wheedling from Zayn, to show off his swallows on his pecs. For the first time all day. Louis relaxed and laughed with the two alphas at his sides. The tattoo conversation led to some really interesting stories from the pair, which ended Harry to take off his shoe to show the word  _ BIG _ on his left big toe. 

The tense atmosphere in the room had finally broken. Louis relaxed as much as he could pressed between two alphas. Eventually, Louis had to step away for a moment, and that was when he saw  the message from Liam.

To:  _ Tommo  _ From:  _ Payno _

_ me and ni gonna go to lacey’s for dinner _

_ you should come and bring the guys _

To:  _ Payno  _ From:  _ Tommo _

_ ill ask them _

_ half an hour? _

To:  _ Tommo  _ From:  _ Payno _

_ sure _

Louis sent back a thumbs up, before slipping his phone in his pocket and heading back to living room. Harry and Zayn were talking quietly, their heads pressed close. Harry’s hand was gripping Zayn’s, and they were both grinning. They looked up when Louis came closer and sat down on the couch near them, his knee almost touching Harry’s.

“Liam and Niall are going to dinner, my housemates, they’re going to dinner down the street, and they wanted to know if, you, if  _ we  _ wanted to join them.” Louis shook his head slightly. “That made it sound more formal than it actually is, it’s just a pub down the street we like to go to.”

Harry and Zayn looked at each other again and seemed to have a split second conversation before turning back to Louis. “Yeah,” Zayn replied, grinning.

“Sounds great,” Harry said, an equal sized grin on his face. The two of them stood up and Louis marveled at the fact on how much taller they were than him.

“Do you want us to drive?” Zayn asked. 

“Oh, no, it’s literally right down the block, we can walk.” Louis collected the dishes off the coffee table. “I’m gonna pop these into the kitchen, I’ll meet you by the door?”

The two alphas nodded and then the group quickly dispersed. After dropping off the dishes, Louis found Harry and Zayn in the entryway, wearing their long dark coats, grinning at each other. They looked towards Louis when he walked in to the entryway, smiles deepening. Louis smiled back at them before he pulled his coat out of the closet. Zayn stepped forward before Louis could put it on, and helped him with the warm, navy peacoat. Louis smiled back in thanks. Harry held the door open for them and the alphas waited for Louis to lock the door, before they all started to walk down the street towards the diner. 

The walk is quiet on the way, Louis between Harry and Zayn. The sun was just setting and it had gotten colder. Louis was thankful for the rare night without rain. 

When they got to Lacey’s, a cozy, little pub, Zayn held the door open for the other two. Liam and Niall were waiting in their regular booth, Niall tucked under Liam’s arm. They were studying something on Niall’s phone. Liam looked up when the three approached the booth, smiling and nodding at them. Niall looked up almost guiltily, shoving his phone in his hoodie pocket. Harry helped Louis out of his coat and placed them on the hook near the booth.

“I’m going to grab a chair,” Harry said before disappearing. He came back with a chair and pushed it up to the end of the table. He sat in it gracefully. Zayn motioned to the booth, indicating to Louis to slide in. Louis shook his head slightly and Zayn shrugged before sliding in. Louis sat next to him, leaving enough space between him and Zayn so they wouldn’t touch. 

“Hello,” Liam greeted. “How was your day?”

Harry and Zayn made eye contact. “It was good,” Harry replied.

“Fine,” Louis piped up. 

An older omega lady approached the table. “Oh, my three favourite patrons. How are you doin’, loves? Who do these fine alphas belong to?”

“How you doing, Ms Lacey?” Liam grinned up at her. Niall gave her a wave, but Louis stood up and hugged her. She reminded him of his grandma. 

“Oh, Lou, where have you been? I’ve seen these two lots, but I thought you disappeared.” She released him and pinched at his cheek. “You’ve gotten skinnier. Have you been eating?”

“I’ve been busy.” Louis replied in lieu of actually answering her questions. “Sorry, Ms Lacey.”

“Well, tell me who these lads are.” She motioned to Zayn and Harry. “They belong to you now?”

“Yeah, this is Harry,” Louis nodded to the long legged alpha sitting before them. “And Zayn.” The dark haired alpha waved. “And, yeah, they’re…” Louis let his voice trailed off. The older omega grinned. 

“Oh, fantastic, love, two! Aren’t you a lucky lad? So handsome, too. Well, I’m Lacey, and I’ll be taking care of you today.”

“Oh, is this your pub?” Harry asks.

“It’s my alpha’s pub, he just named it after me. He works in the kitchen.” Lacey patted Louis’s shoulder as the younger omega sat back down. “Regular for you boys?” Liam and the omegas nodded at the question. “And for you too?”

“Whatever your best draft is,” Harry said in reply. Zayn nodded in agreement. 

“Alright, loveys, I’ll be right back with those.” She smiled down at the table before quickly moving back to the bar.

“Cute place,” Zayn said. 

“Yeah. We really like it here. Niall works here on school breaks.” Liam wrapped an arm around his omega. 

“What are you studying?” Harry asked, tilting his head towards Niall. 

Niall glanced at Liam before answering. “Music education.”

“Oh, nice. Loved my music teachers in school.” Zayn smiled the blond omega.

“He’s really good, too.” Louis piped up. “Absolutely fantastic, he’ll have to play for you guys sometime.” 

“Kept telling him he should go into performing,” Liam said, glancing towards his omega with a soft smile on his face. 

“I wanted to go into teaching,” Niall said with a frown. “It’ll be easier for when we have a family.” Niall pouted up at Liam, who chuckled and kissed the tip of his nose. 

Louis’ face softened at the exchange. 

“And you? Are you also a student?” Harry asked Liam. 

“I am, yeah. Paediatric nursing.” Liam quirked his lip. 

“Nursing,” Zayn said in surprise. “That’s...different.”

“Is it?” Liam asked, a slight bit of ice in his voice.

“You just don’t hear about alpha nurses a lot, that’s all,” Harry explained hurriedly.

Liam cocked an eyebrow at the long haired alpha. “You also don’t hear a lot about two alphas in a relationship.”

Zayn and Harry glanced at each other. “That’s fair,” Zayn said. Liam smiled. 

Louis kicked Liam under the table and frowned at him imploringly. Liam furrowed his brow back at him. 

Luckily, Lacey came back with a tray before the alphas could finish their pissing contest. She hands over beers to the alphas, and pink drinks to the omegas. The group muttered their thanks.

The table fell silent after the older omega took their dinner order. Louis and Niall’s eyes met over the rim of their glasses and Niall offered Louis a small smile. 

“How did, uh, how did you all meet?” Harry asked, breaking the silence. 

Liam and Louis looked at each other, and Liam nodded towards the omega. 

“Uh, well, me and Liam lived next door to each other since we were bor n, and our mums always had us on playdates, and we went nursery together and...primary, and secondary, and A levels and uni, so we’ve basically been best friends since we were born. And Niall moved like, five houses down when we were ten, and the three of us just clicked.” 

“Our mums used to call us ducklings because we were always following each other around.” Niall piped up.

“Yeah, we all went to uni together, and Niall and Louis were roomies. And then after, uhm, after...freshman year, we all moved off campus into the rowhouse, and that’s uh, that’s that.” Liam finished up. “Well, then me and Niall got matched up, and, that’s that.” Liam pressed a kiss to Niall’s temple, who beamed up at him. 

Louis glanced between the alphas at his side. They had a soft look on their face. 

Lacey brought out their food and the group started eating, making light conversation. Louis picked at his cottage pie, separating the layers and pushing around the filling, making little mounds. Liam caught his eye and gave him a look. Louis took a small bite and raised his eyebrow. 

“So, how did you two meet?” Louis asked, avoiding Liam’s look as he put his fork down to sip at his drink. He didn’t pick up the fork back up.

Harry and Zayn looked at each other. “Our families lived next to each other for years, on my dad’s side and his mum’s side.” Harry nodded towards Zayn. “We just, grew up next to each other, and then went to uni, where we played bunch of small shows together, then we auditioned for the X Factor, and then, got signed, and the rest…”

“The rest is history.” Zayn smiled at Harry. Harry smiled back. 

“That’s sweet,” Niall said.

“Where are you from?” Liam asked. Louis tuned them out sightly while he looked down at his fork squashed pie, chewing on his lip slightly. Liam and Harry had finally seemed to settle their alpha hormones to have a polite conversation.

Louis felt an elbow nudge on his arm, and looked up into Zayn’s deep brown eyes.  “These onion rings are good, have you tried them?” Zayn pushed the plate towards Louis.

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Louis picked up a ring. “They are good, thank you.” He nibbled on the outside.

“Your pie okay?” Zayn nodded towards Louis’ piles of meat and potatoes and peas. 

“Oh, it is. I’m just...not hungry.” Louis bit into the ring and chewed to buy him some time. “I don’t eat too much, I guess.” 

“Oh,” Zayn said. Louis felt like he wanted to say something but the dark haired apha only eyed  him while Louis finished the ring and began picking at the potatoes. They were finished when Lacey came back and cleared the table. She brought them another round of drinks and the table loosened up. Zayn ended up with an arm draped behind Louis, mirroring Liam. Harry rested his chin on his fist as he watched Louis tell a story about the time in a school play, instead of kissing the fair maiden lead, Liam had fist bumped the young boy before vomiting on his shoes. 

“God, the other kid must have felt so awful,” Harry said between chuckles. 

“I did!” Louis exclaimed. “It was so embarrassing.”

“You played the princess?” Zayn asked.

“He insisted.” Niall rolled his eyes at the memory. “The teacher wanted him to play Liam’s part but Louis wanted to be the princess, so she let him.”

“Yeah, Mark loved that.” Louis snorted into his drink.

“Who’s Mark?” Harry asked.

“My stepdad.” Louis said, ever so coolly at the name. The rest of the table fell silent at Louis’ tone. 

“I can’t believe you made your teacher do that,” Zayn commented to distract from the silence. 

“People can barely say no to him now, imagine a baby Louis. He was unstoppable.” Liam patted Louis’ hand. Louis rolled his eyes. 

“Were you in the play, Niall?” Harry asked. 

Liam jumped in, telling the other alphas that Niall used to be the shyest kid, if they could believe it, and played a tree, and got so nervous he peed his pants.

They stayed at that table, telling childhood stories, until Lacey came up and told them the pub was closing. Louis had to check the time, because he couldn’t believe it was already 11 pm. The older omega dropped the check on the table, and Louis, Liam, and Harry all reached for their wallets. 

“Oh, I have me and Niall,” Liam volunteered. Harry and Liam made eye second for a few seconds before Harry dropped his gaze and turned to Louis. 

“We got you, Louis,” Harry told him with a wink and a smile. 

“Are you sure, I can…” Louis’ sentence faded away when Zayn squeezed his shoulder. 

“Yeah, of course,” Zayn told the omega. Louis put his wallet back in pocket, while Liam handed over his credit card, and Harry shoved two bills that were way bigger than they needed to be into Lacey’s hand. 

After paying, the group stood and Liam helped Niall into his coat, while Harry held Louis’ coat for the omega. After the alphas shrugged on their coats, the group walked out of the door.

On their way back from the pub, Niall and Liam fell a few steps ahead of Harry, Louis, and Zayn. Niall was tucked under Liam’s arm, murmuring to each other quietly.    


Somehow, Louis wound up walking between Harry and Zayn. He kept his gloved hands in his coat pockets, although Harry and Zayn has their hands out, dangling between them like a trap. They walked in silence, their breath steaming up in front of them. For the upteenth time that day, Louis wished for a cigarette, just for something to do with his hands. Zayn and Harry’s legs were a tad longer than Louis’ and Louis felt like they had deliberately slowed their steps to match his.    


When they got to the front of the row house, Louis noticed the shiny black sedan, parked between Liam’s old green van and their neighbor’s sensible red SUV. “Is...is that your car?”    


“Yeah,” Harry said with a small smile. “Just a Porsche. Didn’t know if we should bring the Lambo or not.” He shrugged.    
  
Louis had a feeling that he wasn’t kidding, and decided not to ask how many cars the two had.    
  
Louis slowed down to a stuttering stop. Harry and Zayn walked a few more steps before they realised he stopped and turned and looked back at him.    
  
Zayn motioned with his head. “We’ll walk you to your door, come on.”    
  
Louis ducked his head and scurried forward. Ahead of them, Liam and Niall stopped at their door and looked back at them. Louis made eye contact with Liam and nodded once, subtly. Liam ushered Niall into the house, leaving the three outside.   
  
When they reached the doorway, the three stopped, and Harry and Zayn smiled again, those wide smiles, showing off sparkling, white teeth. Louis smiled back, closed lipped and shy.    
  
“It was really nice meeting you, Louis,” Harry said, eagerly.    
  
“We’ve been waiting for this, for...for a long time.” Zayn was looking at Louis so intensely, Louis thought he wanted to eat him.    
  
“It was nice meeting you too.” Louis twisted his hands together nervously.   
  
Harry and Zayn glanced at each other and looked back at Louis.    
  
“Would you like to go on a date tomorrow?” Harry asked.   
  
“A date?” Louis repeated.   
  
“Dinner and a movie. You know, a date,” Zayn replied.    
  
“Oh,” Louis said. He felt caught off guard. “Uh, sure, that sounds, yeah, sounds good.” He swallowed around the lump in his throat. Harry and Zayn’s smiles grew wider.   
  
“Cool,” Harry said.   
  
“We’ll text you tomorrow about details,” Zayn said.    
  
The two hesitated before stepping forward, getting into Louis’ space. They both leant over and pressed their lips to Louis’ cheeks softly. Louis blushed and bit his lip.    
  
“Bye,” Zayn whispered.   
  
“See you tomorrow,” Harry said, just as softly.    
  
“Bye, yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Louis took a deep breath and leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Harry’s cheek first, and then Zayn’s. He didn’t meet their eyes before turning and rushing into the house.    
  
Harry and Zayn looked at each other before embracing, laughing and gripping at each other’s back. They had started towards their car, arms tightly around each other, when they heard the door behind them open and close. They both looked back to see Liam on the doorstep, arms crossed against the cold.    
  
“Harry, Zayn,” Liam said. He stepped towards them.   
  
“Liam,” Harry said, smiling and nodding in greeting.    
  
Liam glanced around, making sure they were alone. “Can I talk to you?”   
  
Zayn furrowed his brow. “Sure.”   
  
Liam sighed. “Just...be careful with Louis, okay? He’s...fragile, and...he’s been through a lot. So just be careful.”   
  
Harry blinked. “Oh, yeah, of course. We weren’t...planning on hurting him.”   
  
“Of course you weren’t planning on it, that’s why you should just…be careful.”   
  
Zayn chuckled. “Are you giving us the ‘don’t hurt my best friend, or I’ll hurt you’ speech?”   
  
Liam cocked his head. “Do I need to?” There was no humor in his voice.   
  
The smiles dropped off Harry and Zayn’s faces. “No, no.” Harry assured Liam.    
  
“We won’t hurt him.” Zayn smiled nervously.    
  
“Great.” Liam grinned in a slightly scary way. “Well, have a good night.” He nodded at them before turning and going inside the house. Harry and Zayn looked at each other and hurried to the car.    
  
Louis was laying bed, half asleep, the feeling of Harry and Zayn’s lips on his cheeks, when Niall came in, smelling so much like Liam. After he changed, Louis expected him to go into his own bed, but instead Niall crawled into Louis’ bed, and snuggled into the other omega’s side . Louis wrapped his arms around him, holding him like a teddy bear, discreetly sniffing at the comforting scent of his two best friends.    
  
They laid in silence for a few minutes, before Niall spoke. “They seem nice.”    
  
Louis squeezed Niall. “I guess.”    
  
“Louis…”    
  
“Don’t they all seem nice? In the beginning? Mark did. I think I’m going to wait a few days before making a judgement.”   
  
Niall sighed and looked up at Louis, sadness and pity in his eyes. “You know, sometimes, I wish you got Liam instead of me. Then maybe you wouldn’t have been so anxious, because, like...you know he wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”    
  
Louis’ breath caught in his throat. “Niall, I…” I never wanted to do that to you.    
  
“I could’ve fallen in love with someone else,” Niall said quietly. “It might have been better for us all.”    
  
Louis is silent for a few moments. “I’m glad it was you, Ni. He’s so good to you. It was the best for both of you.”    
  
“Maybe they’ll be good to you. Maybe they’ll be the best for you.”    
  
Louis doesn’t say anything. He just buried his face in Niall’s hair. Eventually, Niall’s grip loosened and his breath deepened, and he was asleep. Louis closed his eyes and tried to drift off to join him, but his mind was racing too fast. Instead he stared up at the ceiling and tried to calm himself by matching his breaths to Niall’s. Sometime in the night, he drifted into a fitful, dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I just had a lot of life stuff that got in the way. I also wanted this chapter to be very informative. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, and we can really get this moving. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading as always
> 
> You can find me at commonzouis.tumblr.com :)
> 
> Have a great day xx

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading again. There is no set update schedule, but I will try to update as soon as possible. 
> 
> Please tell me what you think!
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at commonzouis.tumblr.com!


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